His Giants days ending, Osi Umenyiora has regrets -- lots of them

Dec. 22, 2012
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New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, shown here on the field before a game against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium, regrets the way he has handled his contract disputes. / Tim Heitman, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

by Mike Garafolo, USA TODAY Sports

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. â?? These final two games of the season could be Osi Umenyiora's last with the New York Giants. He and offensive tackle David Diehl, both selected in the 2003 NFL Draft, are the longest-tenured members of the team.

But it didn't have to be this way. Even Umenyiora understands that now. Had he not griped publicly about his contract year after year, it might not be expiring at season's end when the 2013 season voids.

"Yes, a lot of regrets. I completely went about it the wrong way," the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end told USA TODAY Sports this week, adding: "Honestly, if I would've handled it differently, it wouldn't even be a question about finishing my career here or not. But I didn't.

"If I would've gone about it quietly and not said anything, I think I would've really got what I wanted. But the fact I came out and was open, speaking and talking all the time, that's what pushed them into this situation."

Umenyiora agreed to a slight bump in pay for this season ($6 million, up from a little over $4 million) in exchange for putting all of his contract gripes to bed and having the chance to hit the free-agent market in 2013. It will be the first opportunity for Umenyiora, 31, to shop himself. He signed a six-year extension in 2005 that had a base value of $33 million (as opposed to the $41 million maximum value initially reported).

Umenyiora hasn't set himself up for a whopping new deal. He has only six sacks, which is his lowest output since he played only 11 games in 2006. But Umenyiora claims limited playing time has hurt his stats and that, when he's been on the field, he has shown he's as explosive as ever.

Umenyiora talks about his prospects for free agency, those regrets about how he handled his contract situation, his belief the Giants can turn things around as soon as Sunday's big game against the Baltimore Ravens and more in this week's USA TODAY Sports NFL Q&A:

You thoughts on this season in general?

As a team, it's been so up and down. It's been very, very inconsistent. Individually, I'd have liked to have put up better numbers, but I think I've played very well. It is what it is. What people don't understand is I'm not a starter. I'm a backup player. I'm playing less than 30 plays a game. So to expect me to put up the same numbers as somebody who's playing 65 or 70 snaps a game is a little ridiculous. But I understand where it comes from. I understand why people think that because they don't really understand what's going on.

Did you expect to play more this year?

Um, I didn't really know how it was going to play out. I was just happy to be here, happy to finish out the last year of my deal and whatever happened, happened. I'm not upset I haven't played more. I haven't complained. I haven't said one thing to any of the coaches about that. So whatever role it is that they give me is what I'll take. But I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

You made a bet on yourself, to take the one-year deal and then hit the open market. Was that gamble worth it?

No question. The people who know and the people who make decisions on my future, they're watching at the same time as the Giants are watching and I'm watching. If I was watching the tape and noticed I'd lost explosiveness or I was injured, then it would've been a lost bet. But now, I just get in there, they put me in there, whenever they tell me to play, I go play. And I've made some plays.

So you feel as good as ever?

No question. It's all evident, man. You can ask the coaches that and they'll tell you.

Do you have any regrets for how you handled the contract thing on the whole?

Yes, a lot of regrets. I completely went about it the wrong way and the way it looked at the particular time, nobody's really going to understand from the player's perspective and it's asinine for me to expect them to. So I went about it wrongly, speaking out about it. All of those things should've been handled behind closed doors. I definitely regret that. A lot of people, when they see me, all they think about is that, all they talk about is contract and this and that. Forget I've been here 10 years and all of the stuff I've done here. All they think about is contract. I hate that some people have that impression. But there's nobody to blame but myself. I could've definitely handled it a lot smarter than I did.

I assume you mean the fans. That hurts you to know they think like that?

Yeah, because it's not like that. Anybody who knows me knows what type of person I really am.

When you say things would've been different if you'd handle the contract situation differently, is that just you talking? Did the team tell you that?

No, that's just the way I feel because, from a straight-up just football standpoint, I think I've played well and they see that and know that. But all of the other things surrounding it, all the things I've said and come out and talked about have made it the way it is right now.

Any contract talks at all recently?

No.

So this is it?

I don't know. For the last three years I've thought it was my last year. "I'm out of here. They're going to trade me." And yet I ended up right back here. So in my head, I can be like, "I'm going to a different team." But who knows what's going to happen?

Do you think this team can flip the switch and go on a run like last year's?

Yeah, because we've played against some really good teams and we beat them pretty handily, so I know we have the ability to play that way. It's just a mental thing. If everybody's in tune mentally and thinks, "We can really do this and play the way we've played in those games," the sky's going to be the limit for us. For the Giants, it's like, if we get hot, there's really no team we can't beat. But when we're not playing well, there's no team we can't lose to. You understand?

Yeah, I covered you for eight years. I know exactly what you're talking about.

(Laughs) So, it's just a matter of us focusing, going out and performing the way we're capable of performing and we'll be OK.

We wrote something Friday about you guys being "mentally drained." Antonio Pierce thought that was the case and Justin Tuck agrees. Do you agree?

I don't think so. I can't really buy into that because of the way our practices are. We practice fast, crisp. A lot of times we're into it. I've been on a team that was tired. The practices were slow and nobody was really into it. But we're still into it.

What year was that?

Toward the end of the season in 2009 was bad. Even 2010, I think toward the end of the year, we were dragging. But not these past two years.